“Why have you been drinking?”
She asked while removing the tie from around his neck.
“They were all project leads, and I had to discuss the collaboration with them. I couldn’t turn them down, so I had a few drinks.”
He looked down at Tang Yining. “Why did you come over so late?”
“You dare ask?” Tang Yining loosened his tie and smoothed his shirt, letting out a huff. “I sent you a bunch of messages and got no reply. I called you a bunch of times and your phone was off. Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?”
Qi Yanzhi pulled out his phone. “It ran out of battery.”
Tang Yining took it and glanced at it—it really had shut down due to a dead battery.
“I’ll charge it for you.”
Chargers were kept in places he frequented, like the study and the bedroom.
Tang Yining found the charging cable with practiced ease and plugged the phone in.
Qi Yanzhi hadn’t forgotten the sound he’d heard earlier. His gaze swept over the desk.
When he saw the book, a ripple stirred in his calm, placid heart, and his pupils abruptly constricted.
He reached out, picked up the book, and flipped open the cover.
Thankfully, the page bearing Tang Wei’s delicate handwriting was still intact.
Tang Yining had finished charging the phone. When she turned and saw the book in Qi Yanzhi’s hands, a flicker of disgust passed through her eyes.
She walked over, her expression shifting from what it had been a moment ago. With a flick of her finger, she took the book from his hands and asked with feigned confusion, “Is this Weiwei’s book?”
Qi Yanzhi pressed his lips together and gave a soft “mm,” casually averting his gaze. “I only found it yesterday while looking for something. I was planning to return it to her.”
She had originally wondered if Qi Yanzhi had kept it deliberately, but his indifferent attitude now put Tang Yining’s mind at ease.
But return it?
Wouldn’t that mean he’d have contact with Tang Wei alone again?
Tang Yining gripped the book tightly and gave a sweet smile. “I’ll do it. You’re too busy with company matters for something this trivial to take up your time. I’ll find a moment to give it back to her.”
She smiled with curved eyes, but the smile didn’t reach them at all—in fact, it carried a heavy trace of contempt.
The offer to return it had only been a formality. This was the only thing Tang Wei had left behind, and Qi Yanzhi didn’t actually want to give it back.
But Tang Yining had already cornered him with her words. If he didn’t let her take the book, it would only invite her suspicion.
If she got upset, he’d have to coax her again, and the outcome would be the same anyway.
He’d come this far—this wasn’t the time for a falling out.
The book couldn’t be kept.
He could only blame himself for not storing it properly, and for not anticipating that Tang Yining would come today, and that she’d happen to see it.
Qi Yanzhi turned and walked out, his expression turning icy cold where she couldn’t see.
“Whatever you want.” He said it with indifference. “I’m going to take a shower.”
The sound of his footsteps gradually faded. Tang Yining opened the book, looked at the words that grew more and more grating to her eyes, and let out a cold laugh.
The bright moon—what a beautiful word.
Being abandoned by the moon in one’s heart must be a fate worse than death.
Her index finger and thumb lifted a page, about to tear it out, when she suddenly stopped.
What would be the point of just tearing it out?
Since he’d kept the book to disgust her and make her uncomfortable, why should she let Tang Wei off easy?
An eye for an eye—that was her nature.
Tang Yining closed the book, a smile curling at the corner of her lips—one that no one could see through.
When Qi Yanzhi came out of the bathroom, Tang Yining was sitting on the bed in the bedroom looking at her phone.
Hearing the sound, she looked up and flashed him a sweet smile.
Qi Yanzhi walked toward her. “I’ll take you home.”
“I’m not going back tonight.” Tang Yining stood up, her tone coquettish.
She had stayed over before; the guest room was always kept ready. Since she wasn’t going back tonight, Qi Yanzhi didn’t insist.
Tang Yining walked over to him, wrapped both arms around his waist, and pressed her whole body against him. “You haven’t spent proper time with me in days. You weren’t even focused when we were buying the ring today, and you promised to go shopping with me but didn’t.”
There was a clear note of complaint in her words.
Qi Yanzhi’s lips moved as if to speak, but before he could, she continued, “But then again, you did say it was for the sake of our future, so I won’t hold it against you.
“I’ve already thought it through—when you have work to handle, you can focus, and I won’t bother you. But when you’re free, you should spend time with me, okay?”
Tang Yining looked up at him with bright eyes. “I really missed you.”
Her eyes were very much like Tang Wei’s—especially the way Tang Wei used to look at him like that too.
A pair of grape-like eyes blinking, so lively they seemed to speak.
Qi Yanzhi was momentarily dazed and didn’t refuse. He placed a hand on her waist and nodded.
Tang Yining was overjoyed. She happily looped both arms around his neck, rose onto her tiptoes, and pressed her red lips to his jaw.
Then the kiss moved slowly upward, finally settling on his thin lips.
She blinked, then darted her tongue out to lick his lips.
Qi Yanzhi’s gaze was dark and unreadable. Suppressing the reluctance within him, he closed his eyes, took control, and slowly deepened the kiss.
Their bodies grew hotter. Tang Yining’s hands moved downward, and just as she was about to untie the man’s bathrobe, his hand clamped down over hers.
The ambiguous atmosphere dissipated considerably. Tang Yining opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion.
It was always like this—she could feel his reaction, yet he managed to hold back every single time.
Sometimes she wondered if it was because she wasn’t attractive enough, or if he was truly suppressing his desires out of respect for her.
Qi Yanzhi kissed her lips and soothed her softly, “Save it for the wedding.”
Tang Yining made a bitter face, somewhat dejected. “I don’t care about that, and besides, there’s not much time left before the wedding.”
“I care. You’re too important to me—I don’t want to treat you casually.” He pressed her into his arms, his voice tender and affectionate, as if cherishing his most precious treasure.
Of course, that was assuming one ignored his expressionless face, which could even be described as cold.
Tang Yining buried herself against his chest, unable to see his face, hearing only his voice that treated her like a priceless gem.
Though resigned, her docile expression showed she had clearly been persuaded.
The two held each other for a while, and Tang Yining took a deep breath. “Are you still blaming me for what happened with Weiwei?”
She asked in a muffled voice, her tone filled with guilt and self-reproach.
Qi Yanzhi was taken aback. Tang Wei’s sneers and taunts echoed in his ears, and his heart crawled with ants, bitten with dense, piercing pain.
He hadn’t learned what Tang Yining had done until after she had already administered the drug. His first thought at the time was to find Tang Wei, but it was already too late.
Tang Wei had already taken the drug and stumbled into a room—what was meant to happen had already happened.
He had trembled with rage, even wanting to tear Tang Yining apart a thousand times over. But no matter how furious or devastated he was, the deed was done.
After weighing his options, he ultimately did nothing, sitting silently in his study all night.
The only thing he did was numb himself, forcing himself to forget what had happened to Tang Wei that night.
For over a month, he hadn’t investigated the hotel from that night, nor had he sought out the man who had been with Tang Wei.